Cadillac Catera Maintenance & Repair

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Running hotter than normal. Oil light comes on and off and now transmission light is coming on and off. Has not been driven alot all summer. This is a 97 Catera. Any help would be great. Water and Oil levels are fine. No leaks showing up under car either.

Are radiator fans coming on and are there any outside signs of running hot.If not, then possible electrical problem from setting. WD-40 removes moisture which might be causing circuits to malfunction. The computer connections ( 3 of them near front left near battery) have twist on caps which could be sending incomplete signals.Only a guess! If not really overheating, driving for awhile might eliminate the problem on its' own. Dave

my son has a 1999 catera that runs perfect when he first starts it and runs fine for 15-20 miles.when he starts it back it starts fine but dies when he puts it in gear if he doesnt have the rpms at 1000.if it goes below 1000rpms it will die

I don't remember but I put a new ABS unit on my Pontiac and it didn't work so I took it to Midas and they calibrated it and it worked fine. It took them forever to do it because they had to figure out how to do it. Just call them and ask,

I have a 2000 Cadillac Catera and it had been sitting for over a year. Changed the battery and the heater valve and oil change. Now the fan won't kick on to cool the engine and the key gets stuck in the ignition. The only way that I can get it to come out is to unhook the battery. Help!!!!!1

I have had several repairs and tok it to the dealer it left me stuck it will light up like its going to start then cut right off. So i took it to 3 mechanics which were stumped. Finally i took it to cadillac and told them i needed a new key with the chip. Got it back and it worked great for 3 months. The other day i went to start and its doing the same thing again. Any suggestions it has 112.000 miles do u think the key went bad again or something else is the problem please help.

Have a '98, had same start problem for years..not bat volt, not a start solinoid click. Call AAA, raise hood . About 15 to 25 m in, summer, try start, has been firing up; call AAA , and cancel serv call. Dealer says bring inwhen it has the problem-thus far problem goes away each time. Had it hauled in couple years ago in NC, dealer said he not found anything, not even a battery sale. Did that in Dallas once, dealer sold me a battery, wrecker fee, and a $500 + charge. Still living with uncertainty.

I have a 98 Catera, 33,000 mi has 2 water leaks repaired. Both leaked a rear of engine area and firewall. #1 was a heater water pump , #2, one m0nth later was a heater water valve- both plastic pieces--$, 130 and 260, from independent Cadillac repair. 3 dealer quotes by phone were $500, 750, 1000.

I can not gain entry to my cadillac. I cant open it with the key or the key less entry.. the towing companies cant even get into my car..so I cant get under the hood..the sun roof is open a little and one of the towing guys tried to get into it that way as well but no luck..I replaced the battery in the key less entry and the battery in the car is only a couple months old. Its been sitting for almost a month bc i have no idea where to begin and rain is coming..anyone have any suggestions?

It's probably your mulit-purpose modulator that is located under the dash behind the steering wheel. Mine went out on my Catera and it caused everything to quit working, including the fuel door, trunk, stereo etc... I would use a slim jim to gain entry and then switch it out. I ordered a new modulator from the Cadiallac dealer, it cost $90. It is very easy to change (except for having to stand on your head under the steering column). All you have to do is locate the gray box (sorry I don't have a picture of it to post but there is a previous blog on this site that tells you exactly how to do it and posts a pictur), take it out and plug in the new one.My car has worked perfect since the replacement.

Thanks for the information, but I have since found out what the problem was, computer chip in the shifter was broken. That's what was stopping the key from coming out. Had to replace at the cost of 125.00

The problem I am having with the catera is sometimes in the am when I go to work as I put the car in gear to leave my driveway the transmission light & check engine light will come on & the transmission, I call it, drops out The car will barely move now if I get the car moving & then get it up to 40-45mph & at that time turn the key on off on off repeatedly for oh a mile or 2 the transmission light will go off & the car will run perfectly fine the rest of the day no matter how any hours if is pared at my job The check engine light will go out that afternoon after being turned off for a few hours , it doesn't happen all of the time, what could this be?

I have a 2000 Catera and I love it. Had a few problems since bought it but nothing I would not have with any other machine. Question since you are familiar with this car -I have some of the indicator lights on my a/c heat control panel out and I want to put in new bulbs. I saw an article a short while ago on how to change them but I lost the message.Do you have any information that would help.

I have a 1999 Catera that initially wouldn't start without starting fluid. It reads DTC p411 when put on the machine. It starts everyday, but has recently started to stall when I'm at the stoplight or a stop sign and won't restart without starter fluid. The other day, it cut offf as I turned into my driveway. Today it stalled 3 times (twice at stoplights and once at a stop sign)! I love this car and want to keep it..it has 116,000 miles on it. HELP!!! Also, my check engine light is on (has been for a month), and I failed the emissions test due to the check engine light...it came back DTC p411

I got new tires and alignment last week. Immediately after that, I had trouble with the steering wheel locking while driving. (It may not have anything to do with the alignment.) When I came to a corner a tried to turn, the steering wheel was locked and would not turn. Then I grabbed it and cranked as hard as I could, and it unlocked. I had my husband check it out, and it seemed OK. But since then, it has happened three more times. Could this be the anti-theft device locking up? Right now, with the car parked and key out, the wheel is NOT locked (turns freely).

so we are trying to figure out the whole deal with the car, but we dont seem to nail it. the car turns on but will not accelerate at all.we replaced the throttle body, pedal level sensor and still does the same thing.

I can fix your radio problem. As far as the other guy with the shorts I can fix yours too. It is a box under the dash. The solder joints are broke I guarantee it. Anyone want it fixed email me at simplymilheiser@yahoo.com. THanks

Junk it before your way in, more than what you end up bargaining for. Mine had a TON of problems, fuel pump, TC/ABS, Speedometer, Cracked Head Gaskets, the dash was lit up like a X-Mas tree, and still is.

The main thing to fix here would be the cracked head gaskets which costs to repair about $800 up to $1000 or more depending on where you take your car too.

There's a government program which gives you money if your car no longer can pass smog. If it fails, fill out some paper work at the Pick-N-Pull offices, and bam! They could end up giving you up to a $1000 to junk it. The same amount it costs to repair one of the most troublesome cars ever.

It's obvious as to why it was only sold from 1997 up to 2001, and never to be seen again.

My 2000 Catera has the check engine light on and the following codes: P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303, P0189, which are for random misfire, misfire cyl. 1,2,3, and throttle position signal input.

Last week it had the code P0411 air intake The mechanic is stumped and thinks it may be the computer going out and throwing random codes. Ever since having the timing belt changed my car has had problems and has thrown many codes, but it has had many problems, and is not running correctly (seems sluggish).

Sounds like one of the cams is out of time.The timing belt instl. is tricky, got to have correct cams marks lined with notches on top of sheet metal guard when the crank timing notch is in TDC firing position after the belt is installed. If it's not as per those specs. it will not run correctly and the valves can be bent if timing is off a lot. It's a bear to correct but whoever installed the belt is responsible if there was an error on any of the work done. SSKL Dave